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Gamma Acosta taking his talents to Denver

Longmont graffiti artist will still do local contract pieces

By Quentin YoungLongmont Times-Call

Posted:
03/20/2013 09:18:20 PM MDT

Updated:
03/20/2013 09:19:21 PM MDT

In this long exposure image, Gamma Acosta signs his name using a red flashlight near the property where he used to paint murals near the intersection of Third Avenue and Lashley Street in Longmont on Wednesday. Property owners were not happy after Acosta in December agreed to have one of his last murals cut out of the wall for preservation.
(
Greg Lindstrom
)

LONGMONT -- The murals on a wall at Third Avenue and Lashley Street have long been among the most talked about, interesting and visible works of art in Longmont.

The artist behind the murals announced this week that he'll be doing them no more.

"That's a done deal," Gamma Acosta said.

The property the wall sits on belongs to a group of owners that includes his uncle, he said, and they're planning to develop a restaurant there. They also were not happy after Acosta in December agreed to have one of his last murals cut out of the wall for preservation. He painted the mural, which showed Crayons being shattered, as a tribute after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

Acosta announced the end of his working at the wall on his Facebook page, Gamma Gallery: "To all my LONGMONT fans, thanks for supporting me all these years!" he wrote. "I keep getting asked when I will be painting the wall @ 3rd and Lashley again, and in all honesty I won't. I was banned from the wall for cutting out & preserving the Sandy Hook mural tribute, so we have parted ways from our mutually beneficial handshake."

Acosta has completed permanent murals at various businesses and other facilities in Longmont, and his work was featured in "Street Cred: Graffiti Art from Concrete to Canvas," an exhibition at the Longmont Museum & Cultural Center last year.

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"What Gamma brought to the art scene was a fresh new perspective," said Erik Mason, the museum's curator of research and information.

Mason said there are not many local artists creating the sort of work Acosta has done, but his contribution to the local scene has been significant.

"You were aware of art in the community every time you went by that corner," he said, adding that Acosta helped bring attention to the value of graffiti art. "Gamma's appearance in Longmont made people realize, 'Oh, this is a legitimate art form."

Acosta started painting murals on the wall more than five years ago. At various times he painted memorable images of American troops fighting in Iraq, a Sept. 11 tribute, and portraits of musicians and sports figures.

He said he plans to move to Denver, where he increasingly is finding demand for his work. But he plans to return to Longmont on a regular basis for commissions, he said.

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